Publications

Find at Harvard

June 2011 (Revised May 2012)
Case

Reckitt Benckiser: Fast and Focused Innovation

By: Rebecca M. Henderson and Ryan Johnson

Since its 1999 merger Reckitt Benckiser (RB), a global consumer goods company, led by its CEO Bart Becht, RB developed a reputation for rapid product innovation and industry leading profit margins. RB's stated strategy was to focus on its Powerbrands and high growth... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Global Strategy; Innovation Leadership; Leadership Style; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Product Development; Performance Improvement; Commercialization; Consumer Products Industry

01 Apr 2024
In Practice

Navigating the Mood of Customers Weary of Price Hikes

products. Developing new products. The development of new products can take several years. Anticipating the trends in consumer price sensitivity can provide producers with a significant edge in determining whether a new View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Consumer Products; Consumer Products

2007
Working Paper

The Impact of Component Modularity on Design Evolution: Evidence from the Software Industry

By: Alan MacCormack, John Rusnak and Carliss Y. Baldwin

Much academic work asserts a relationship between the design of a complex system and the manner in which this system evolves over time. In particular, designs which are modular in nature are argued to be more "evolvable," in that these designs facilitate making... View Details

Keywords: Product Design; Adaptation; Software; Information Technology Industry

Read Now

November 1995
Case

Transformation of Pratt & Whitney North Haven (C)

By: H. Kent Bowen, Linda A. Hill, Andrew P. Burtis, Sylvie Ryckebusch and John Schiavone

As part of the Pratt & Whitney North Haven restructuring effort, Ed Northern and his business unit managers are encouraging workers to make decisions and take an active role in improving the manufacturing process at North Haven. Business Unit Manager Tom Hutton has... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Decisions; Capital; Human Resources; Agreements and Arrangements; Production; Problems and Challenges

Program

Leading Global Businesses

Adapt strategies and operations to the rapidly changing global business context Integrate global and local strengths while improving collaboration across cultures Create competitive advantage by integrating the best of your organization's... View Details

Web

Podcasts - Managing the Future of Work

skills strategy for tech transformation Can the shareholder-owned discount brokerage giant parlay its investments in enterprise and cloud infrastructure into an AI-enabled expansion into new markets while improving View Details

May 2016
Case

The Inexorable Rise of Walmart? 1988—2016

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In October 2015, Walmart surprised investors by announcing that it expected flat sales growth for 2015 and growth of only 3% to 4% over the coming three years. Profits would also fall due to significant investments in people and technology. The company’s stock price... View Details

Keywords: Asda; Costco; David Glass; Convenience Stores; Discount Retailing; Dollar Stores; Doug McMillon; E-commerce; Online Retail; General Merchandise; Grocery; Lee Scott; Mike Duke; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Neighborhood Market; Sam Walton; Sam's Club; Store Formats; Supercenter; Supermarket; Warehouse Clubs; Merchandising; Walmart; Wal-Mart; Globalized Firms and Management; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Units; Business Divisions; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Film Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Banks and Banking; Price; Profit; Revenue; Food; Global Range; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Global Strategy; Business History; Compensation and Benefits; Employees; Human Capital; Labor Unions; Wages; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Management Succession; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Distribution; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Labor and Management Relations; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Diversification; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet; Mobile Technology; Online Technology; Web; Web Sites; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Distribution Industry; Banking Industry; United States; Arkansas; Bentonville

23 Jun 2023
HBS Case

This Company Lets Employees Take Charge—Even with Life and Death Decisions

care teams after experiencing firsthand as a nurse, and then a decade as a senior leader of two large health care organizations, how the health care system managed quality and productivity in ways that required counterproductive layers of... View Details

Keywords: by Annelena Lobb; Health

26 Jul 2011
First Look

First Look: July 26

PublicationsPolicy Bundling to Overcome Loss Aversion: A Method for Improving Legislative Outcomes Authors:Katherine L. Milkman, Mary Carol Mazza, Lisa L. Shu, Chia-Jung Tsay, and Max H. Bazerman Publication:Organizational Behavior and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2018
Article

Discretionary Task Ordering: Queue Management in Radiological Services

By: Maria Ibanez, Jonathan R. Clark, Robert S. Huckman and Bradley R. Staats

Work-scheduling research typically prescribes task sequences implemented by managers. Yet employees often have discretion to deviate from their prescribed sequence. Using data from 2.4 million radiological diagnoses, we find that doctors prioritize similar tasks... View Details

Keywords: Discretion; Scheduling; Queue; Healthcare; Learning; Experience; Decentralization; Operations; Service Operations; Service Delivery; Performance; Performance Effectiveness; Performance Efficiency; Performance Improvement; Performance Productivity; Decisions; Time Management; Cost vs Benefits; Health Industry

SSRN

Find at Harvard

25 Apr 2012
Research & Ideas

The Importance of Teaming

happens: Through teaming. Products and services are provided to customers by interdependent people and processes. Crucial learning activities must take place, within those smaller, focused units of action, for organizations to View Details

Keywords: Re: Amy C. Edmondson

February 2025
Supplement

Intenseye: Powering Workplace Health and Safety with AI (B)

By: Michael W. Toffel, Shane Greenstein and Sadika El Hariri

Intenseye used its $25 million series A funds to refine and expand its digital safety platform while refining its target markets and ideal customer profile. As the company implemented new approaches to create value for its clients, such as developing an AI-powered... View Details

Web

The Three Levels of CSV - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

Three Levels of CSV Reconceiving Products & Markets Redefining Productivity in the Value Chain Improving the Local & Regional Business Environment The Three Levels of CSV... View Details

March 2020
Case

Voi Technology

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport and Olivia Hull

Voi Technology, a fast-growing start-up out of Sweden, is competing in the highly contested European e-scooter sharing market. With a presence in nearly 40 cities in Europe by February 2020, the firm is working hard to improve its unit economics to reach profitability.... View Details

November 2016 (Revised November 2016)
Case

Radial Analytics Probes Post-Acute Care

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Olivia Hull

Thaddeus Fulford-Jones and Eric Weiss, founders of healthcare technology startup Radial Analytics, have been busy developing a software program designed to save hospitals money and improve patient outcomes by producing customized care plans for patients leaving the... View Details

Keywords: Electronic Medical Records; Electronic Health Records; Data Science; Entrepreneurship; Health Care and Treatment; Business Model; Business Startups; Innovation and Invention; Growth Management; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Science-Based Business; Business Strategy; Health Industry; Technology Industry; Cambridge; Massachusetts

13 Oct 2015
First Look

October 13, 2015

Shiv, and Rebecca M.C. Spencer Abstract—Conventional wisdom and studies of unconscious processing suggest that sleeping on a choice may improve decision making. Though sleep has been shown to benefit several cognitive tasks, including... View Details

12 Jul 2010
Research & Ideas

Rocket Science Retailing: A Practical Guide

reinforced? In the new normal, managers will have to learn to cope not only with mix uncertaintybut also with aggregate demand uncertainty. In addition, managers will have to redouble their effort to improve View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Retail; Auto

2010
Working Paper

Being a Leader and the Effective Exercise of Leadership: An Ontological Model (PDF File of PowerPoint Slides)

By: Werner Erhard, Michael C. Jensen and Kari Granger

This presentation is based on our research program over the last seven years in which our objective has been to rigorously distinguish leader and leadership and to create a technology for providing access to being a leader and exercising leadership effectively (in... View Details

Keywords: Curriculum and Courses; Innovation and Invention; Leadership Development; Goals and Objectives; Research and Development; Attitudes; Perception; Technology; United States